


Deep Sea Terrors

by phantomofthehoepera



Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Gen, Horror, Multi, that's modern with big air quotes bc you know, they don't even have spotify
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26578066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantomofthehoepera/pseuds/phantomofthehoepera
Summary: At the snuffing of the lights, the game will begin.
Relationships: Elizabeth Swann/Will Turner, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 10





	1. Prologue

██████ beach laid quiet, the sea not even disturbed by a stray autumn breeze. In the early morning’s limited light, both the sand, the water and even the sky seemed to slip into nothing but grey or grey-ish tones, with the only colorful elements being the occasional plastic candy bags, left behind by beachgoers during the summer. 

A young boy, let’s call him Jonathan although his name isn’t in the least important, slowly strolled down the beach. Both his footsteps and his dog’s were absorbed by the sand, and he kept silent so as to not disturb any of the residents in the houses overlooking the sea just above him. Jonathan cast them a glance, wondering briefly what it was like living there in the summer, when tourists overran the beach until way past his own bedtime, but his contemplations were cut short when he noticed the dog’s leash slacking slightly. The dog had stopped, and now stood facing the sea with as worried an expression as a dog can put on. As he caught up to the dog, Jonathan crouched down next to it and quietly asked what was wrong, spying out to sea as well. 

A ship passed by, far in the distance and the waves from it eventually hit the beach with soft splashes, along with the morning’s first gust of wind which brushed the hair out of Jonathan’s face. He shut his eyes against it, only opening them when he felt the wind die down a little and looked back on the water. Which was when he noticed the shadow. 

It lurked, just beneath the waves, only moving ever so slightly and unlike any fish Jonathan had ever seen. He kept watching it, transfixed on the shape by pure, childlike curiosity. It moved closer for a moment, then back out against the waves, eliminating any doubts in Jonathan’s mind that the thing wasn’t alive. For a while, it stayed where it was, then it started moving closer yet again, this time going further than Jonathan had seen it do so far. After a while, it seemed to reach a point where it could stand on solid ground, and it slowly started to rise above the surface. 

The wind picked up, as two eyes became visible above the waves and Jonathan promptly stood up, feeling his heartbeat pick up and sweat forming in his hands. Without taking his eyes off the creature, he pulled the dog’s rope, first hesitantly, but then more and more commandingly as the dog refused to move even a centimeter. It growled at the creature, and the creature backed off slightly. 

Then, it started to move quicker and Jonathan dropped the leash and ran. 

He passed by the gardens of the beach villas, up onto the street and didn’t pause to breathe until he could no longer hear the sea. Only then did he dare cast a quick glance over his shoulder, saw a shape quickly approach him and almost screamed before he recognized it as his dog, bolting up the street as if the devil himself was chasing it. It passed right by Jonathan and he quickly got to running himself, longing for the warmth and safety of his bedroom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment if you're feeling even the slightest bit stoked. The full story will be posted on halloween


	2. ██████ City. Halloween, 1986

Elizabeth Swann leaned against the doorframe, impatiently watching her father get in his car. 

”And you’re sure you’ll be fine by yourself?” He stopped, worry crossing his face, and Elizabeth rolled her eyes. 

”Of course I will,” she reassured him. ”And if I’m not I’ll call you immediately. I promise.” 

For a moment it seemed as though he was going to protest, but he finally nodded and shut the door. After a moment of afterthought, he rolled his window down and leaned out. 

”Happy halloween, then.” He smiled at Elizabeth, then started the car and began backing out, with Elizabeth just waving him off with a smile. She kept waving until he was out of sight, then headed inside, shut the door behind her and started making for the kitchen. Inside, she poured herself a glass of juice then picked up the telephone and dialed Jack’s number, taking a few sips of juice while she waited for him to pick up. 

”What?” He finally did, voice slurred, either from just waking up or from a hangover. Elizabeth hoped it wasn’t the second, considering what the evening plans were. 

”Dad’s out of the house, so you can come over now.” She took another sip. ”And you better not forget anything.” 

”Alright.” That seemed to wake him up properly. ”I’ll be there in an hour, tops.” 

”I’ll hold you to that,” Elizabeth said, and the two hung up. Finishing her juice, she took note of the time, then headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. 

Letting the water rain down on her, she started mentally going over what needed to be done for the evening. Which doors should be locked so as to keep guests out, what kind of food she needed to buy- if any, and so on and so forth. She couldn’t help but feel a little stressed out, despite having decided weeks ago that this was the weekend she was going to _relax_ god damn it. As she got out of the shower and threw on a robe, she decided that Jack was to blame, then got back to planning and getting dressed. 

She had just finished when- true to his word- Jack rang the doorbell not forty-five minutes after their talk. Elizabeth wrapped a towel around her still drying hair and went to open the door, finding her friend having a smoke outside, two large paper bags at his feet. 

”You know,” she said as he threw the cigarette away and stepped inside. ”This is why Dad doesn’t want you in the house.” 

”And a good morning to you as well.” Jack smirked at her. ”I thought it was the hair.” 

”That too.” Elizabeth shrugged. ”So, anyway, I’m thinking we have some lunch, then set things up properly here. Did you bring the lights like I told you?” 

”Of course I did.” Jack raised one of the bags. ”What do you take me for?” 

”I take you for Jack Teague. And therein lies the problem.” 

”It’s Sparrow, remember,” Jack corrected her as the two walked into the kitchen. ”I’m gonna get it changed properly soon.” 

”Still the same problem.” Elizabeth ruffled his hair as he sat down, then went to open the fridge, ignoring his complaint. Finding nothing better, she grabbed a plate of leftover pizza and put it in the microwave. 

”Anyway.” She leaned against the kitchen counter. ”Do you know how many people are coming?” 

”No idea.” Jack shrugged. ”But I’d wager some fifty people. Maybe more.” 

”Great,” Elizabeth sighed. ”How much do you wanna bet someone’ll start a fight?” 

Before Jack could give his answer, the microwave beeped and Elizabeth got the pizza out, setting the plate down at the table between them. The two started eating, discussing what they needed to fix before guests started arriving and throwing the occasional insult at each other. Overall, it was rather uneventful, for about the last time of the evening. 

In another part of ██████ town, William Turner was standing in front of a mirror, one t-shirt in each hand and with anxiety starting to brew in the back of his head. In the absence of a costume, he’d figured that either of the two shirts would do nicely, and that he could choose on the actual day, but now it just seemed ridiculous. _Dragon Ball or Voltron? Really? Why don’t you throw Scooby-Doo into the mix as well?_

Will first pushed the small voice reminding him that he actually had a Scooby-Doo shirt lying around down as deep as he could, then proceeded to give the one telling him this whole operation was stupid the same treatment. He only had a few more minutes before he had to leave, and he couldn’t just back out since he actually had someone to accompany him. 

That thought was supposed to have been calming, but as he finally decided which shirt he was going with, tied his hair back and headed into the hallway to grab his shoes it became more and more of a menacing one. He didn’t even _know_ James Norrington, for god’s sake, the only reason the two had decided to go in the first place was that they were the only two who usually didn’t show up for these kinds of things. At the time, when James laid it out, it had seemed reasonable, but over the week since that had happened Will had had lots of time to remember what the difference between the two of them was. Namely, that James didn’t show up despite being explicitly asked to do so, while Will just didn’t get invited in the first place. 

Even as he headed down the stairs of his apartment building he was considering turning back and watching a movie, however that idea became impossible the moment he opened the apartment door and found James waiting outside. 

”You’re late,” he said and Will felt his stomach drop. 

”Really? I’m so sorry I was-” 

”No that was-” James looked a little confused ”That was supposed to be a joke.” 

”Oh.” Will nodded, trying to understand what had been funny about it and James nodded, mumbling a ”yeah.”. The two stayed where they were for a while, both unsure of what to say, Will supposed. Or hoped, rather. He could have just completely ruined the mood, after all. Maybe he should have just stayed at home? 

”What’s a Voltron?” James suddenly asked, and Will sighed with relief at getting something to talk about. 

”Oh, it’s this show I like.” He cleared his throat. ”It’s about these mini lion robots, but then they come together to form one super bot and it’s-” 

Will realized that James was looking like a question mark personified, and quickly shut up. 

”It’s great,” he finished and tucked his hands in his pockets. ”Shall we go, then?” 

”Yes, let’s.” James nodded and the two started walking, not saying another word as they left the apartment section of town and entered the villa area. Little kids ran past them on the street, dressed as all manners of horrific creatures to the extent that their parents would let them. So really, horrific was a bit of an overstatement, Will thought. He had just finished planning something witty to say about that, when the two rounded a street corner and he immediately forgot what he’d thought of as the house came into view. Lit up by what he could only imagine were millions of red lanterns, it stuck out like a lighthouse against the dark sea behind it. Kids he somewhat recognized from school stood gathered outside, talking amongst themselves, and from what Will could see through the open door, the guests continued all the way into the house. 

”Right.” He took a deep breath. ”What’s the game plan?” 

”I’ve no idea.” Will wasn’t sure if he was relieved or even more stressed about the fact that James looked almost as concerned as he felt. In the end he settled for relieved, mainly because he didn’t want any more stress right now. 

”Do we just walk in?” He asked, glancing between James and the house. It felt like some of the kids were looking at them. 

”I suppose-” 

”James!” A voice called out, and then a boy pushed through the crowd at the door and made for the two with a smile on his face. Will thought he recognized him as T- something. Theodore, maybe? 

”Didn’t expect to see you here.” Probably-Theodore reached them, threw an arm over James’ shoulder and started leading him towards the house. And against what Will was certain was better judgement, he trailed after, half-heartedly listening in on Probably-Theodore and James’ conversation. 

The warmth of the house, and the people moving inside hit him like a wall, in sharp contrast to the could autumn air outside. Will thought he could smell cigarettes and something else he could only assume was being smoked, and almost covered his mouth before he realized how that would look like, instead settling for feigning a yawn. _Smooth,_ he commented dryly to himself at the exact same moment that he realized that he had no idea where James had gone to. 

He stopped, in the middle of the crowded hallway, and tried to look into the living room. Inside, people were bumping against each other something terrible as they danced and- in a few cases- got a little too handsy for Will’s comfort. He quickly looked away, scanning the hallway. There was a kitchen opposite the main door, which luckily for him seemed to be a little calmer. 

He made for it, and immediately decided to ignore the two people talking amongst themselves at the table when he noticed a glass door leading out to a completely empty porch. For the first time since he arrived, Will felt completely relaxed. The door was unlocked, and no one seemed to notice as he slipped outside, back into the cold night. 

Elizabeth gave Anamaria a quick greeting nod as she shut the balcony door behind her. With a relieved groan, she fished a pack of cigarettes out of her jumpsuit pocket, put one in her mouth and lit it. With a lighter from a second pocket, no less. If there was one good thing about this costume, it was the pockets, she thought as she eyed the grey thing critically. Mike Myers had seemed like a good idea, until someone pointed out that she was impossible to recognize under the mask and she had had to take it off. 

She took a drag of her cigarette and looked out to the sea, trying to ”go to her happy place”, as Jack had put it when they’d talked about the evening earlier that day and she’d brought up concerns. What her happy place was, she wasn’t quite sure, but she liked to think it involved Jack actually doing as he’d promised and sticking around her for at least a few hours. 

_Honestly,_ she thought to herself as she finished the cigarette and threw it over the railing. Blowing the last smoke out in a billowing cloud, she turned around and tried to open the door, only to find it had locked while she was out. Someone must have bumped into it, shutting it completely, she figured and muttered a curse at whoever that person was. Though to be fair, it wasn’t like she didn’t have options. A staircase led from the balcony down to the porch where she could just as easily get in. This just wasn’t the night for detours. 

She took the steps down and rounded the porch corner, intending to take the kitchen entrance when she stopped. A guy was sitting on the porch, just to the side of the door and, if she had to make an educated guess, with the intent not to be seen. He was overlooking the sea, looking somehow entirely neutral and completely miserable at the same time and Elizabeth felt a pang of sympathy. Strolling over, she tried to recall the guy’s name, certain that she’d seen him in school before. But for some reason, this was the precise moment her brain decided to give in to the few drinks she’d had and lost all interest in his name, in favor of trying to figure out what conditioner he used. 

”Hey,” Elizabeth said and the guy jerked, seemingly surprised by her showing up. 

”Hi.” He shot her a quick smile, keeping his eyes on her as she sat down. 

”So…” Elizabeth wasn’t entirely sure what to say. ”How come you’re out here all alone?” 

”I don’t know.” He scratched the back of his neck. ”I just don’t have anyone to talk to, I suppose.” 

”Oh, right.” It finally hit Elizabeth. ”You must be that new guy.” 

”I mean, I’ve been here for almost four months. I’d like to think I’m not that new anymore.” He frowned at her and she had to suppress a snort. 

”You’ll be the new guy until someone else moves here, sorry to say.” She shrugged. ”That’s just how it is…” 

”Will.” He extended a hand and she shook it. ”Will Turner. And you’re- You _must be_ Elizabeth, right?” 

”Right.” She nodded. 

”So why are you out here then?” Will asked then immediately looked slightly panicked and added, ”I mean, just since it’s your party and all.” 

”Hey, relax.” She patted him on the back. ”You look like you’re about to faint. And to answer your question, my friend ditched me.” 

”Oh.” Will nodded. ”That doesn’t sound like a good friend.” 

”Yeah, he’s a tool.” Elizabeth shrugged. ”But most people here are, that’s the thing about this town.”

She paused for a moment, feeling like those weren’t exactly the words she was looking for. There had to be something more she could say on the matter, right? 

”I’m a little drunk right now, so you have to forgive me,” she continued. ”but that’s the thing, right. You can’t go out looking to find your best friend or the love of your life or whatever here. You can just find the tools you can stand to be around and stick with them, get it?” 

She tried to make her point clearer by gesturing slightly, but felt like she only ended up looking like Jack. It didn’t seem to make Will too weirded out, though. 

”I-” He hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. ”I think I get it. I guess I just didn’t expect to hear you out of all people say it.” 

”Thanks, dude.” Elizabeth feigned offense but the mockery seemed lost on Will who immediately looked panicked. 

”I didn’t mean it like-” he began, but Elizabeth cut him off. 

”I know. I’m kidding.” She smiled at him, and he blinked a few times before hesitantly smiling back, holding it for longer than before this time. 

James didn’t know what in the world he was doing in the living room, why he’d gone there or why he’d gone to the party in the first place. All he knew was that he needed to get out immediately. At least out of the living room, preferably without bumping into someone who liked to fight. He’d seen a few who seemed like they’d be happy to pounce if anyone so much as looked at them wrong and that was not what James needed tonight. 

The crowd finally cleared up slightly in the hallway and he took a deep breath, immediately realizing what a mistake that had been, when a wave of cigarette smoke hit him and made him cough loudly. 

”Whoa, whoa deep breaths now.” Someone patted him on the back and James managed to get a ”thank you” out between the coughs. He turned around, coming face-to-face with someone he recognized, both as the hostess’ friend and as wearing clothes he knew from somewhere. 

”Wanna get some space?” the guy asked, nodding towards the kitchen and James let himself get practically led to it without any protests. 

It was less crowded, he found to his relief. In fact, the only other person in the room was a girl sitting at the kitchen table, either heartbroken or stoned out of her mind. It was hard to say, but whatever the case, she didn’t pay James and the guy any mind as they sat down on the floor, leaning against the counter. 

”Thanks again,” James said and the guy made a gesture that he thought was supposed to be dismissive, though it was a little difficult to interpret. 

”It’s no problem, mate.” He took a swig from a bottle James hadn’t noticed before. ”So, fancy seeing you here. You don’t come out a lot, do you?” 

”How would you know?” James decided to avoid the question entirely. 

”I know lots of things.” The guy grinned at James, who was unsure if the statement was meant to sound mysterious or was simply a plain fact. The sky was blue, James was awkward, this guy knew lots, type of deal. How was he even supposed to respond to that?

”Seems a little unfair, doesn’t it?” James finally settled on, raising an eyebrow. The guy looked surprised for a moment, then laughed and took another swig. 

”It does, I’ll give you that. So what, you want me to share something about myself?” 

”You could start with your name,” James shot back. 

”Fair enough, name’s Jack,” Jack said. ”And I already know your name, so don’t bother.” 

”That’s right. You know things.” James rolled his eyes, accepting the bottle as Jack offered it to him. 

”That I do.” He nodded. ”Here’s something I don’t know, though. Is that a costume or is that just how you normally dress?” 

”It’s a costume.” James looked down at his shirt, the closest to a costume he’d been able to procure in just a week ”I’m supposed to be Jesse Walsh, but I don’t know if it shows.” 

”It doesn’t.” Jack’s face lit up. ”But hey, then at least we’re matching. Or, somewhat matching, at least.” 

James looked over Jack’s sweatpants and short shirt, and the resemblance finally caught up with him. 

”Glen, right.” He handled the bottle back and Jack raised it slightly in a cheer. 

”Right on the money.” He smirked. ”People keep saying I look like him so I figured I should just lean into it.” 

”That’s certainly one way to do it.” James nodded and was about to say something else about their apparently somewhat shared taste in film when Jack interrupted him. 

”More importantly, though, you haven’t answered my question yet.” Jack leaned in closer and James felt the smell of alcohol settle over him like a cloud as Jack lowered his voice to a whisper. 

”What are you hiding from me?” 

”I came to talk to Elizabeth,” James blurted out and Jack leaned back, looking surprised. 

”Elizabeth?” he repeated, while James tried to remember how to breathe. 

”Yeah.” He nodded. ”Yeah, I’ve been seeing her around school and I just thought she seemed…nice. I suppose.” 

”Huh.” Jack drew his brows together in an unreadable expression. For a horrifying moment, James thought he was about to start questioning him, but then Jack shrugged and took another swig. 

”Who doesn’t, eh?” He smirked at James. ”You’ll have some competition, mate.” 

James snorted. 

”I think I can live with that,” he said, but that didn’t seem to satisfy Jack, who shifted so that he balanced on his heels, looking like he was ready to get up at any moment. James didn’t know what that meant, exactly, but he could assume it wasn’t good. Something about Jack’s general demeanor just gave him that impression. 

”Say what.” Jack raised a finger at him ”How’s about I help you out? Give you a bit of a tactical advantage, savvy?” 

James didn’t know what to say to that, so he chose not to respond at all. 

”Savvy?” he asked, instead, raising an eyebrow in what he hoped was clear enough indication for Jack to explain what that meant. Which apparently it was, luckily enough. 

”’Got it’, basically.” Jack shrugged. ”Rolls off the tongue easier.” 

As he finished the sentence, he flicked said tongue out for a second in an almost snake-like manner and James had to fight the urges to stare and look away as quick as possible at the same time. In the end, he just cleared his throat, mumbled a ”right”, and reached for the bottle which Jack gladly offered. He threw it back and drank for as long as he could, then a little longer, until Jack finally grabbed his wrist and, with a laugh, told him to calm down a bit. Feeling a little more relaxed, he did as ordered and handed the bottle back, vaguely aware of the fact that the music in the living room had stopped. 

”Shit.” Elizabeth sighed and stood up, Will still sitting on the porch. 

”What?” He asked, looking up at her. 

”I gotta put in a new CD.” She sighed again and sent the kitchen door a disdainful look. For a moment, she just stood there and didn’t say a word, her expression unchanging. Will found himself wondering if she was falling asleep, when she lit up. 

”Tell you what, though.” She reached a hand out for him. ”Come help me pick.” 

It wasn’t a question, but it wasn’t as though Will would have said no if it had been. Without a word- just a nod in agreement- and feeling a little breathless, he took her hand and let himself get pulled up. Her hand was warm, unlike his own which were freezing with the night air, and her touch seemed to linger in his mind long after she’d actually let him go. As she started making for the door, Will found himself frozen in place, just looking after her. She reached the kitchen door, then turned around with an amused smile. 

”Are you coming?” she asked and Will finally snapped out of it, thank god. He took a few quick steps to catch up to her at the door, and to his surprise she grabbed him by the hand again. She must have noticed him reacting to it because she bit back a giggle. 

”Just so you don’t get lost,” she explained, squeezing his hand and dragging him inside. 

Jack looked up, just at the right moment to see Elizabeth pass him and James by, dragging a guy he didn’t recognize behind her. He caught a quick flash of the guy’s t-shirt and mentally groaned at the print. He wasn’t sure what ”Defender of the Universe” was supposed to mean but he was fairly certain it wasn’t any good. 

”What’s that for?” James asked him and Jack realized he must have been groaning out loud, after all. 

”Didn’t you see?” He gave James a sympathetic look. ”Elizabeth’s caught some nerd and if I’m not going completely insane, they were on their way to her bedroom.” 

”Oh.” James didn’t seem too devastated by the information, but he could be pushing his feelings down for all that Jack knew. 

”You don’t think they’re just going to talk, or something?” he continued, but didn’t look like he was too convinced. Jack shook his head with a sigh. 

”I know Elizabeth. She’s gonna eat him alive.” He put a hand on James’ (tense) shoulder. ”Sorry, mate.” 

”It’s not a problem,” James responded a little too quickly. Jack was starting to feel properly sorry for him, and while that normally wouldn’t have been enough for him to do much of anything he couldn’t for the life of him get over that t-shirt. Really, Elizabeth ought to have standards, he thought. 

Then, he remembered that if Elizabeth didn’t uphold her own standards, he could just do that for her. 

”Come on.” He stood up and almost lost his balance as he felt the room tilt slightly with the alcohol. 

”What?” James looked genuinely confused, and Jack rolled his eyes at his new friend’s slow uptake. 

”We’ll break them up, somehow.” He gestured towards the door to Elizabeth’s bedroom, which had just closed behind her and the guy. ”Come on, Jamie.” 

James was silent for a moment, just looking up at Jack as his expression grew more and more confused. 

” _What?_ ” he finally repeated and Jack decided this conversation wasn’t going to go anywhere. That left it up to him to move this operation forward, so he- without saying anything more- grabbed James’ arm and pulled him to his feet. Before he could protest, Jack began following Elizabeth’s previous path, with James behind him. Either he’d finally caught on or he was just too bewildered to protest, but whatever the case it wasn’t until they reached the door that he pulled his arm back. It looked like he was about to say something, so Jack put a finger to his mouth which shut him up instantly. 

”Don’t you worry your little head now, Jamie.” Jack smiled reassuringly. ”I’ll make sure you get your shot with your dream lady.” 

He then threw the door open and stuck his head in, ready to say something devastating about Elizabeth’s taste in men. However, he never got to it, seeing as the sight before him threw him for a bit of a loop. There just…wasn’t much of anything going on. Elizabeth and the guy just looked up at him from where they were sitting on the floor, hunched over Elizabeth’s CD collection. 

”What the hell are you doing here?” Elizabeth said after a moment of stunned silence, while the guy awkwardly waved at James. 

”The question is, what are _you_ doing here?” Jack quickly decided that redirecting the conversation was his best option. ”Aren’t you supposed to be out hosting?” 

”Whatever, you ditched me,” Elizabeth huffed. ”Besides, this party sucks.” 

Once more, Jack found himself surprised, as that was certainly not what he’d thought he’d be hearing. Nor had he thought he’d get to see Elizabeth get up and start pacing the room like a troubled philosopher, but that was exactly what she did, looking intently between Jack, James and the guy. 

”Honestly,” She finally continued ”It’s just more of what every kid does in this town every damn weekend except we’re all dressed up as bootleg versions of characters from movies we haven’t even seen. I’m sick of it!” 

She stopped in the middle of the room at that, punctuating the sentence by throwing her arms out. Jack cast James a quick, confused glance, then tried to do the same with the new guy but found him completely transfixed by Elizabeth, looking like what he imagined Lenin must have looked like when he read the manifesto for the first time. 

”You know what?” Elizabeth seemed to take the lack of interruption as a sign that she should continue. ”We should do something fun. Properly fun.” 

Jack pointed out that- at least in his humble opinion- getting piss drunk with a bunch of strangers wasn’t too far off from properly fun, but didn’t get any sort of agreement from James or the other guy. They, instead, seemed interested in what Elizabeth had to offer as an alternative, watching her curiously as she made for her bookcase and pulled out a volume, old to the point where it was concerning. It was bound in worn leather, with no letters Jack could interpret visible on the cover. He did recognize the symbols as runes- of the older kind if he wasn’t mistaken- but that wasn’t exactly a subject he was well-versed in. 

”What’s that?” He eyed the book critically, as Elizabeth put it down on her bedroom carpet and went to shut the door, ushering James and him in properly. 

”I got it from way back in the library.” She smiled excitedly. ”It’s old. Like, _really_ old. I don’t think anyone’s gonna notice it’s missing.” 

”You stole it?” The guy- who’s name Jack still hadn’t gotten- said breathlessly and Jack had to fight the urge to roll his eyes. Elizabeth just winked at him in response, which was confirmation enough. Jack didn’t care too much about that bit. 

”Yes, I could tell it was old,” he remarked dryly. ”Question is, what’s _in_ it?” 

Elizabeth’s grin widened. 

”Rituals,” she said. ”Lots, and lots of rituals.” 

”Rituals as in magic?” James raised an eyebrow and Elizabeth nodded. 

”M-hm.” She sat down in front of the book and opened it. ”The language is a little dated, but we should be able to crack it. Right, Jack?” 

As she turned to look at him, it felt like the entire room did. And like ”the entire room” was an audience of thousands, all waiting for him to say ”yes” like this was some kind of wedding. Jack rolled his eyes, mainly for show, because he already knew he would agree, and a small, nerdy part of his brain was starting to get properly excited about the idea. 

”Fine.” He crossed the room and sat down next to Elizabeth. James and the other guy joined them, forming what could with some good will be described as a circle and silently watching as Jack peered over Elizabeth’s shoulder at the book. She’d been right in what she said about the language, he quickly confirmed. Still, the handwriting felt like even more of an obstacle. It was overly swirly, which wouldn’t have been too much of a problem if it hadn’t been so rushed. The letters seemed to hook into each other and blend together in a mess of decorative loops. 

”Have you had any time to actually read any of this?” Jack asked Elizabeth and she nodded, flipping through the pages. It took some time, but she finally stopped at a spread and showed it to Jack. 

”Already had one in mind, had you?” He read the headline. _The game of those slumb’ring belowe._

”Of course. Come on, look at this.” Elizabeth pointed to the first page and began reading ”’Shalt this rite beest p’rf’rmed, on alle hallow’s eve the drown’d shalt walketh the lande again, chaseing alle who draweth breath in search of the p’rf’rmers, which those creatures shalt drawe with themselves back to the depths.’” 

”So something’s supposed to come out of the sea and come after…everyone, basically. But they’ll really be after us.” Jack frowned. ”Sounds a bit pointless doesn’t it?” 

”Aren’t all rituals, though.” James looked skeptical, which wasn’t exactly unexpected. Jack hadn’t pinned him as the type to believe in the supernatural in the first place. 

”Not at all.” Elizabeth shook her head. ”There’s something to gain from this one, if it works. Listen to this: ’And they shalt not stop untille the break of dawn’- no, wait. That’s the wrong one, hold on.” 

She swept her finger over the letters while Jack kept reading some of the passage. _And they shalt not stop untille the break of dawn, or shalt they catch any o’ their prey, uponn which they shalt return once m’re to their wat’ry graves.’_ That certainly sounded like an interesting twist to the game, Jack thought. He wasn’t sure how to interpret it, especially the bit about ’any of their prey’. Did that mean the creatures would go back to where they came from if they just caught one of the people performing the ritual? Or would they need everyone? 

There wasn’t any point in getting hung up on it, he finally decided. The logistics of a fake ritual they were only doing for halloween-themed fun didn’t exactly matter. 

”Here’s what I was talking about!” Elizabeth triumphantly exclaimed. ”’Shouldst thee, the p’rf’rmer, survive thise trial, riches untold shalt await thee at synrise, a pot of golde f’r each of the syn’s rayes.’” 

The still-not-introduced guy’s eyes widened to an almost comical extent, but Jack couldn’t imagine he looked any better. ’Riches untold’ did sound lovely. 

”That’s a lot of gold,” James said and Elizabeth nodded. 

”It is.” She smiled at the group. ”So what do you say?” 

”I mean, I don’t think it’ll do anything.” James shrugged. ”But why not?” 

”I’m in.” The guy really could use trying to be a bit more discreet, Jack thought. He himself just nodded to Elizabeth, then went back to reading over her shoulder. 

”It says here we have to draw a circle and light candles. Do you have any materials for that, Liz?” 

”I have some old crayons lying around.” She nodded ”And there are scented candles in the box on my desk.”

She pointed to said box, then turned to the guy. 

”Will, would you mind getting them?” The guy- or Will, as Jack now knew his name was- immediately obliged and fetched the box, while Elizabeth got up to look for the crayons. He opened it and started lining up candles of various sizes and colors, until they were close to having a full rainbow. Elizabeth came back, holding a red crayon up in triumph. She motioned for the boys to move, then flipped the carpet away and crouched down to begin drawing on the floor. As she did, Jack picked the book up again and took a second look at the instructions. 

”There’s stuff to be read here,” he informed the group. ”And read by ’one unsulli’d’, specifically.” 

Elizabeth stood up and stretched her back slightly. 

”Well if I understand that correctly, that’d exclude the two of us, at least.” She looked to James and Will ”What about you?” 

The two looked confused for a second, then turned bright red almost simultaneously. Jack couldn’t blame them, of course, but he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy the little spectacle. He thought he deserved to have some fun, with it being a party and all. 

”I could read it,” Will finally blurted out and Elizabeth smiled widely at him. 

”Thanks, Will! Jack, give him the book.” Jack obliged, quickly pointing out the right passage to Will, who began reading over it in preparation. He looked relieved at having something to do and took on the task with immense concentration. In the meantime, Jack and Elizabeth got to work with lighting the candles and placing them around the circle. Once they were done, Elizabeth went to turn the lights off, leaving the room feeling almost cozy. Jack, admittedly, didn’t have much experience with the occult, but he was fairly certain that it usually didn’t smell this much like lavender, roses and coconut, nor that it involved as much of two participants glancing at each other like they thought no one would notice. 

”Now.” Elizabeth cleared her throat. ”Everyone, sit inside the circle. Will will read and then we’ll each blow a candle out, and that’s it.” 

”Doesn’t sound overly complicated.” Jack sat down and crossed his legs. 

”Speak for yourself, I have to read all this,” Will muttered, his eyes still on the book. James didn’t say anything, just joined the others in the circle. There still wasn’t any special…feeling. No sense of seriousness or great importance. It just felt like how sitting on the floor with three people, only one of which you actually know well, usually feels like. 

For a moment, it was quiet. Then, Will began reading, slowly, but with a clear and steady voice. 

”By each of our names…” He nodded to James, who was sat to his left. At first, James didn’t seem to get it, but he quickly caught on. 

”James Norrington.” 

”Elizabeth Swann.” 

”Jack Sparrow.” 

”And William Turner. And by the unspeakable names of alle thee, we calle out to thee and inviteth thy dare, and seeketh thy rewards. May we nev’r see the syn again shouldst we fail and may we live in decadence shouldst we succeedest and may we nev’r giveth the chase up.” 

Will reached for one of the candles (a green one) and raised it to his lips, then cast a quick glance at the book. 

”At the snuffing of the lights, the game will begin.” He met the gaze of everyone in the room, then took a deep breath and blew the candle out. James, Elizabeth and Jack all took one each and did the same, leaving the room slightly darker than before. 

No one said a word, for a minute or so. Jack listened for anything out of the ordinary, but all he could hear was the party going on outside the bedroom door. If he really, _really,_ focused he could make out the waves of the ocean as well, but only faintly. 

”Well,” he finally said and stood up. ”That was anticlimactic.” 

”We don’t know if it’s worked yet.” Elizabeth’s tone didn’t match the optimism of her sentence. She glared at her candle, which still emitted a thread of smoke. 

”Whatever the case, I’m going to get back to the party.” Jack made for the door without waiting for an answer. He was starting to miss alcohol. 

James couldn’t say that he’d thought it would work, but it had been a bit fun to try. Especially since it gave him some time out from the party, something he was sorely missing now. He stood with his back to the wall, watching over the heads of the crowd as an empty circle began to form, with a fight starting inside. Two boys, about his own age, were stood facing each other with their fists raised, while the crowd cheered them on. From the corner of his eye, James could see Elizabeth making her way through the onlookers, most likely to break the two up. She didn’t make it in time, however, because not a second after James noticed her, the first punch landed and the two were on each other like wild cats. 

That made James decide he’d had enough, and he turned around, getting to work on the excruciating task of pushing through the crowd. It was thinner where he stood, but it still took some time before he was out and could set his sights on what he imagined to be the most secluded place in the house that wasn’t off-limits: the bathroom. Luckily, there wasn’t any lines forming at the moment, so he could get inside and lock the door without feeling too guilty about taking it up for a while. 

Relieved, he sank to the floor and took a deep breath. The air in the bathroom was cooler than outside, and he suddenly realized just how sweaty he’d been. Perhaps he should open the window? 

It was a little hard to get the lock open, but after some trial and error, he finally got some real cold and felt himself relax considerably. Closing his eyes, he crossed his arms over the windowsill and leaned out slightly, feeling the wind tug at his hair. The smell of the sea and the sound of the waves reached him even here, and he soon opened his eyes to take it all in, counting the waves until he lost track. Then, he just looked, seeing them come and go for quite some time, until he finally spotted something. 

A figure was walking up the beach, towards the house. 

James couldn’t discern any features, and had to admit that the sight creeped him out a little. But he quickly shook the feeling off, reasoning that it was most likely just a guest who’d left the house for whatever reason. He tried to see if he could recognize them, but never got the time to, as someone knocked on the door, telling him to hurry up. 

He quickly shut the window, flushed the toilet and let the faucet run for a few seconds, then left the bathroom to the person, who turned out to be Theo. James muttered a greeting before making his way to the kitchen, where he could still see what was going on in the living room. Both Elizabeth and Will had joined the skirmish, with Will doing surprisingly well. It was actually sort of fun to watch, with the two larger boys getting increasingly frustrated at losing to ”a girl and some geek”, as they put it. James could hear them screaming it all the way out in the kitchen. 

He took some time to watch the fight, but eventually found it getting pretty dull, especially with how clear it was that the two guys weren’t going to win. They should just give up while they had some dignity left, really, James thought as he left the kitchen, unsure of where he would go. Perhaps he should try and find Jack again? Or-

His thinking was cut off as he passed the bathroom door, and heard someone pounding on it from inside. Confused, he tried the handle, but found that it was locked. 

”Hello,” he said loudly, knocking on the door. 

”Get me out of here!” the person inside yelled back. He sounded quite desperate, and after trying the handle again, James decided it was probably best to just break the door open. It wouldn’t be a problem paying for it, and the boy inside didn’t seem like he’d appreciate having to wait any more than necessary. 

”Just give me a moment,” James reassured him, giving the door a pat. Then, he looked around the hallway for the most likely place a toolbox would be stored. 

Will was still a little short of breath as he and Elizabeth grabbed Khoeler and Twigg respectively, and began half pushing, half dragging them outside. The two kept resisting, but to no use, and were soon thrown out onto the stairs leading down to the beach, leaving Will and Elizabeth on the porch. 

”Don’t you dare try to come back here!” she yelled at them, getting two sets of middle fingers in return, but no more than that. Will just rolled his eyes and ignored them as they began walking, turning to Elizabeth instead. She grinned at him and he responded in kind almost instantly, without even thinking about it. 

”Great work in there,” she said, and he felt his face heat up slightly. 

”You weren’t too shabby yourself,” he managed to get out pretty quickly, earning him a quick chuckle from Elizabeth. She looked away for a moment, down at the porch, then back up so that she and Will were meeting each others’ gazes. They were both quiet. Almost too quiet, but at the same time just quiet enough. At first, Will didn’t catch on to what was happening, but he suddenly noticed Elizabeth taking a small step closer to him, bumping their shoulders together. 

It sent a spark through Will, it felt like, and- hoping he wasn’t gravely misinterpreting the situation- he slowly turned so that he was facing her. He opened his mouth to say something- maybe ask, maybe defuse the situation- but Elizabeth hushed him before he got to it. She took a step closer, and Will felt the warmth radiating off her as she reached out, just moment from taking his hand…

A scream cut through the night and both their heads automatically snapped to where it had come from. It continued, with the two of them facing the beach, staring in horror until it finally, _finally,_ cut out. The world was left in complete silence for a moment, until Will started registering the noises from the party again. 

”What was that?” he managed to get out, still not taking his eyes off the dark beach. It was hard to see anything out there, but he could somewhat discern the faint glitter of the waves. 

”I don’t know.” Elizabeth’s voice trembled slightly. ”But we should probably go check it out.” 

She turned to Will and he nodded. Then, none of them moved for a moment. They just kept staring, until Elizabeth finally snapped out of it and took the first step, prompting Will to do the same. They walked down the staircase leading to the beach, and as they reached it Will felt himself sink slightly into the cold, wet sand. He did his best to ignore the uncomfortable feeling, focusing instead on the night around them. It was impossible to see very far, the shapes of the landscape around them nothing but slightly darker shadows against a dark night sky. It all blended together, into a mass of blacks and blues and Will nervously threw a glance over his shoulder, at what felt like the only fixed point in the universe. Elizabeth’s house was well lit up, where it rested above them, looking almost like it was watching over them. It made Will feel a little safer and he turned back to what was in front of him, trying to remember where the screaming had come from. 

James hummed triumphantly to himself, as he finally managed to find a crowbar, far back in a cleaning closet. He grabbed it, shut the closet door, then pushed his way back through the partygoers towards the bathroom. 

The pounding had stopped, but that was probably for the best. Hopefully, whoever was inside had calmed down, knowing they were about to get out. James yelled that he was back through the door, and without waiting for a response, put the crowbar to it and pushed. It was harder than it looked like in movies, and took him several tries to get right before the door budged with a loud creak. By then, a fascinated crowd had gathered behind him and a few cheers could be heard once the door could be opened. 

They quickly turned into something else, once the room inside was fully revealed. 

As people around him screamed in horror, James could only stare, shocked at the sight before him. Theo laid on the floor, one finger still twitching slightly, and with a deep gash running all the way across his stomach, exposing far more than anyone should see and making it clear that he was beyond saving. James took a shaky breath and stumbled back slightly, into the quickly emptying hallway. People had already started pushing out the doors, both in the hallway and the kitchen and James made for the latter, at first intending to leave as well, before he realized that he should probably call the police.

Luckily, a phone hung close by, next to one of the counters and James somehow managed to dial the number despite his hands starting to shake violently. It took a few signals, but someone finally picked up. 

”911, what’s your emergency?” 

”I’m at a party at ██████ Beach Walk number 3.” James swallowed ”And someone’s just died.” 

”Excuse me, can you repeat the address?” The woman on the other end asked and James had had to swallow again to even get anything out. His throat was getting oddly dry, and it was only now, once the adrenaline made all intoxication fade away that he realized it had even been there to begin with. 

”██████ Beach Walk number 3,” he repeated ”Please, send someone as fast as you can.” 

”Someone will be on their way in just a moment,” the woman assured him ”Now, can you tell me what’s happened?” 

James took a deep breath, then slowly began describing the events as detailed as he could. While he did, more and more people started leaving the house, and he tried to keep an eye on the masses, hoping to see Elizabeth and tell her what had happened. She was nowhere to be seen, however, and nor were Will and Jack. 

”Excuse me. Are you still there?” 

”Yes.” He cleared his throat. ”Yes, I’m here.” 

”We’ve sent an officer over. He should be there in just a few minutes.” James couldn’t help but feel like the occasion called for more than one officer, but didn’t comment on it, just thanked the woman and hung up. 

Jack wasn’t sure what in the world people were making such a fuss about, but he did know he wanted no part in it. So, in an attempt to get some peace and quiet he’d retreated to Elizabeth’s room, presuming she’d be fine with it. 

The now blown out candles still stood where they’d been placed, and as Jack looked at them he couldn’t help but snort, getting a faint whiff of the scents still hanging in the air. He sat down on the floor, next to the candles and picked up the discarded book. It took him some time to find the ritual they’d attempted, and once he did he’d gotten so focused that he started reading it, for whatever reason. It hadn’t been his plan when he went back to the room, but now he couldn’t recall any other plan he might have had. 

_’Shalt this rite beest p’rf’rmed, on alle hallow’s eve the drown’d shalt walketh the lande again, chaseing alle who draweth breath in search of the p’rf’rmers, which those creatures shalt drawe with themselves back to the depths. And they shalt not stop untille the break of dawn, or shalt they catch any o’ their prey, uponn which they shalt return once m’re to their wat’ry graves.’_

He traced the letters with a finger, stopping at the final words for a moment, before shrugging the sense of unease that was creeping up on him off and continuing. 

_’Shouldst thee, the p’rf’rmer, survive thise trial, riches untold shalt await thee at synrise, a pot of golde f’r each of the syn’s rayes. A high rew’rd, for selfish lucke-seekers._

_’To begynn the ritual, draw a circle and light candles aplenty, a beacon ’n the storme for the sea-creatures to find ye. Sit yonselves inside the circle and let the call be read, aloude by one unsulli’d:_

_’”By each of our names” - speak here the full names of alle who p’rf’rm the rite- ”And by the unspeakable names of alle thee, we calle out to thee and inviteth thy dare, and seeketh thy rewards. May we nev’r see the syn again shouldst we fail and may we live in decadence shouldst we succeed and may we nev’r giveth the chase up.”_

_’At the snuffing of the lights, the game will begin. Pray thee selfish mortals, that the price not be too high.’_

Jack put the book down with a shudder, which he chalked up to the booze. For what was probably just meant to be a joke, or some experimental horror, the book sure took itself seriously and Jack had never been quite as good at handling horror as he liked to pretend. He could dress up as _Elm Street_ characters all he liked, that didn’t take away from the fact that the movie had made him hesitate to go to bed for a good few weeks after he saw it…

A loud thud made him jump, and quickly turn his head to the window. For a moment, his brain seemed to refuse to make the connection. What the pale, fleshy object pressed to the window was only clicked when one of the slender digits splayed out from it twitched slightly. When its _finger_ moved, and the hand began to slowly slide down the glass, leaving a wet trail behind. 

Jack stood up, his gaze fixed on the window as the hand slowly pulled back. Then, it hit the window again, this time splattering more of the liquid all over its surface. It dripped down as the hand pulled back again, faster now, then came back down on the window, picking up its pace into a furious hammering that made the window clatter. 

The hand kept up, even as Jack turned and fled the room, shutting the door behind him with a bang that wasn’t quite loud enough to drown out the clattering. 

He took the stairs down two steps at a time, nearly crashing into the stream of people downstairs and losing his balance as he tried to avoid them. Someone’s high heel caught him in the right shoulder as the last of the mass pushed out through the door, and the pain let him focus enough not to follow them out on pure instinct. Instead he forced himself to get up and shut his eyes, trying to make the room stop spinning. 

It worked, although not very fast and was nearly undone as he felt a pair of hands grab him. Jack’s eyes shot open and he let out half a shriek before he recognized James as the one who had grabbed him. 

”Are you alright?” James looked about as panicked as Jack felt, and his grip on Jack’s shoulders was starting to border on painful, especially the already bruised one. 

”Someone-” Jack noticed his voice didn’t quite carry and took a quick breath before starting over. ”Someone’s trying to get in. Up on the second floor.” 

”Someone already got in.” James cast a quick glance at the stairs before looking back at Jack. ”In the bathroom. Don’t look in there.” 

Jack nearly asked why not, but the look on James’ face dissuaded him from it quite effectively. He was pale as death, almost looking as if he was about to throw up and his eyes kept flickering to the closed bathroom door, as he finally let go of Jack’s shoulders. 

”Have you seen Elizabeth?” he asked, and Jack shook his head, massaging his injured shoulder as best as he could. 

”Not in a while. She wasn’t in her room.” 

”I see…” James gritted his teeth and turned to the open front door. ”You don’t think she’s outside, do you?” 

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes, trying to see what was in front of her. She’d reached out, taking Will’s hand almost without thinking and now the two were moving through the mass of fog, listening for more screams that never seemed to come. The only thing she’d heard was sirens in the distance, which wasn’t entirely unexpected for halloween night. Still, Elizabeth kept her ears open and pressed forward, until the sound of waves got close enough that she guessed they must be about to walk straight into the water. Then, she stopped and turned back to face Will, seeing the lights of the house faintly through the fog. 

”Where do you think they are?” 

”No idea.” Will shook his head. ”Maybe-” 

He stopped mid-sentence, and his eyes suddenly grew wide, focusing on something behind Elizabeth. Before she had time to ask what was going on, or even look over her shoulder, his grip on her hand tightened and he started running, forcing her to do the same to not lose her balance. It was hard to run in the sand, her feet sinking into it with every step that hit, and it almost made her feel like she was running in a dream, unable to move forward. 

They did move forward, though, the lights slowly coming closer as the sound of waves grew more distant. Which finally let her notice the footsteps following them. 

Elizabeth felt her guts turn to ice, and nearly tripped over her own feet, but somehow managed to keep running. She put all her focus into keeping her balance, only daring to look over her shoulder once the porch was finally visible through the fog, and the light almost hurt her eyes after how long she’d been fumbling around in darkness. It made it difficult to discern anything, other than a trio of dark figures, silhouetted against the fog, that seemed to be gaining on them, and Elizabeth suddenly found it in her to run even faster, now side by side with Will who picked up his pace as well.

When they finally got inside, Elizabeth wasted no time slamming the porch door shut and continuing further into the house. Once she and Will were safely out of the kitchen she closed that door as well, reasoning that it was a lot sturdier than the one leading to the porch, and the two sat down on the living room floor, trying to catch their breaths. 

”What did you see?” Elizabeth managed to say between huffs, but Will just shook his head. 

”No idea,” His voice was shaking, seemingly not only from the running. ”I don’t even know how to describe it, it was-” 

”Oh, thank god you’re back,” Jack’s voice interrupted him and Elizabeth turned to see Jack and James enter the room from the hallway, with a policeman she couldn’t quite remember the name of in tow. ”Where were you? We looked everywhere.” 

”If we could get back to the matter at hand…” The policeman cut in, sounding a tad annoyed. ”Could you show me the site of the accident?” 

Elizabeth didn’t know what to think. On one hand, there was the obvious question of what had happened to get the policeman- Salazar, she finally remembered his name as- here. On the other it was the way he said the word ’accident’, his tone making it clear that he would have loved to put big air-quotes around it. 

”What’s going on?” she asked, eyeing James and Jack, rather than Salazar who she couldn’t imagine would be any wiser. 

”There’s been-” James began, then paused and cleared his throat, as if he wasn’t sure how to say what he wanted to say, before finally starting over. ”Someone died. In the bathroom.” 

”In the bathroom, got it.” Salazar nodded and wrote something down in his notebook, then looked up and turned to Elizabeth. 

”This is your house, right?” he asked, and she nodded in response. 

”Good, then show me the way.” Without waiting for a response, he began to move out of the living room and Elizabeth had to hurry to catch up, leading the way to the bathroom. 

Salazar looked almost nonchalant as he ordered her to step back- the command sounding almost half hearted- and opened the bathroom door. That, however, quickly changed and even if Elizabeth couldn’t see what was inside, the smell alone was enough to make her understand why Salazar would take a step back, putting a hand over his mouth as if to fight back the urge to throw up. The heavy, sharp smell of iron, reminding her of the few dissections she’d gotten to do at school. Even with how fun she thought they’d been, that smell had been hard to shake. The smell of blood, of exposed flesh. The reek of death. She was beyond thankful when Salazar shut the door, and the air felt a tad more breathable. 

”Santo Cielos…” Salazar said under his breath, then reached for his radio. ”This is officer Armando Salazar requesting immediate backup on ██████ Beach Walk number 3, over. I repeat-” 

_”Copy. We’re sending backup, over.”_ The radio cut him off and he seemed to sigh in relief, if just slightly. Without a word, he put the radio back in his belt then motioned for Elizabeth to follow him and the two of them walked back to the living room. 

”Is there anyone else in the house?” he asked, addressing the group. Jack, Will and James had all sat down on one of the couches and Elizabeth joined them, glad to get to sit down. 

James answered Salazar’s question, ”Not to my knowledge, at least not downstairs.”

”I didn’t see anyone upstairs either,” Jack added, then paused for a second before he continued, ”At least not inside.” 

”This is not the time to be cryptic, young man.” Salazar glared at Jack. ”Did you see something outside?” 

Jack didn’t immediately respond. He seemed to think about his words carefully, chewing on his lip and avoiding Salazar’s gaze by looking down at his hands. 

”Yes,” he finally admitted. ”It was dark so I couldn’t see more than a hand, but there was someone outside Elizabeth’s window. Trying to get in.” 

”See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Salazar huffed, writing in his notebook. ”Now have the rest of you seen anything?” 

”There were people running around outside, down on the beach as well.” Elizabeth hesitated to use the word ’people’, but it was the best she could do to make Salazar take her seriously. ”I saw three of them, I believe. They chased us back to the house.” 

That seemed to make Salazar concerned. He scribbled something down, then closed his notebook and put it away before reaching for his radio again. 

”Officer Salazar again,” he said into it. ”There’s possibility of a gang on ██████ Beach Walk and the surrounding area. Proceed with caution, over.”

For a while, he only got static in response, until a voice could finally be heard. 

_”Copy, we have eyes on-”_

The message cut out abruptly, leaving the room in complete silence, as neither Salazar nor the kids could do more than stare at the radio. The dead silence continued for a few moments longer, before the static resumed so abruptly that Elizabeth couldn’t help but jump a little. 

_”-send immediate- some sort of-”_ the message was choppy, interrupted by the static. One thing, however, Elizabeth could make out perfectly clearly. 

_”That’s not human!”_ Followed by a gunshot and then finally, it was back to silence. It didn’t matter how many times Salazar asked what had happened on the other end. There came no response, and Elizabeth realized that they probably had to assume the worst, the last words from the radio still echoing through her mind. 

Not saying a word, she turned to Will, seeing her own horror reflected in his expression. It had worked. _Holy shit it had actually worked._

”You, with the freaky hair.” Salazar interrupted her thinking, addressing Jack. ”I need you to tell me what you saw, in detail. So if you would be so kind as to show me.” 

The way he said it made it clear that it was more an order than a friendly request, and Jack was apparently not interested in disputing it. He got up, nodded to Elizabeth and the others on the couch, then left the room with Salazar in tow. 

”It’s just this way,” Jack said as he walked up the stairs, then turned towards Elizabeth’s room. At the door he stopped, thought about it for a second then put his ear to it. He listened, trying as hard as he could to catch any noise, but it seemed to be entirely quiet inside. Still, Jack couldn’t help but hesitate before opening the door, letting Salazar in before he followed himself. 

”It was out on the balcony.” He pointed to it. ”Someone was pounding on the glass, you can see the stains.” 

Salazar made for the window, leaning in close to examine the red spots. He mumbled something Jack couldn’t make out, then reached for his notebook again. However, he never got so far, as he suddenly took a step back and hurriedly closed the blinds. 

Jack too, stepped back, keeping his eyes on the window as Salazar moved through the room. He passed Jack, heading for the light switch, but paused for a moment before actually reaching it. Soon, the room was in complete darkness, until Salazar turned a flashlight on and Jack realized what had held him up. Caught in the small circle of light, like a singer on stage, was the still open book, right where Jack had left it. 

Salazar didn’t say a word as he reached down for it, and Jack couldn’t think of any way to keep him from reading, so he just stood and watched, feeling a sense of dread build up as Salazar slowly looked up from the book and directly at him. 

Still not speaking, he closed the door, positioning himself in front of it, then shone the light at Jack, making it hard for him to see. 

”Were you a part of this?” he asked and Jack furiously shook his head, bringing a hand up to shield his eyes from the light. 

”Don’t lie to me!” The sudden increase in volume made him take an involuntary step back, further from the door, and Salazar drew closer. Then, without warning, he turned the flashlight off and before Jack could process what had just happened he felt an arm wrap around his waist, then a hand cover his mouth as he was dragged towards the window. 

”I’m sorry about this,” Salazar hissed, as Jack struggled to break free of the iron grip. ”But I don’t want any more of those creatures running around.” 

Jack’s hands were starting to grow sweaty enough to slide off as he tried to bend Salazar’s arms away, and his face felt damp. Whether because of the moisture building up as he tried to scream through the hand over his mouth, or if he was crying, he couldn’t tell but it didn’t really matter at the moment. He thrashed, dug his heels into the ground and even managed to bite Salazar’s hand. Still, it wasn’t until the taste of blood filled his mouth that the grip lightened and he could break free as Salazar cried out in pain. 

As fast as he could, Jack got to his feet and sprinted towards the door gasping for air as he threw it open. At that moment, the sound of glass breaking pierced the air, and he turned around just in time to watch Salazar being pulled back towards the broken window. 

A gust of cold wind hit him, carrying a near overwhelming smell of sea and Salazar’s panicked, then pained scream as he grabbed onto the window frame, the jagged pieces of glass cutting into his hands. Jack could hear his blood pump, like a hammer against his eardrums, as he watched Salazar fight against whatever had a grip on him. At first, it looked like a slim, almost tentacle-like tendril, wrapped around his stomach, but soon it let go and was replaced by hands. Their fingers were long, webbed and almost green-tinted, and it seemed like there was no end to the hands. Still, Salazar fought against them, slowly pulling his upper body back inside and Jack quickly made a decision. 

He slowly reached down for the book, then stepped forward and hit Salazar over his already wounded right hand with it. 

The effect was instantaneous. Salazar cried out, and his hand slipped from the window frame with a wet, tearing noise, to be quickly caught by whatever was outside. Jack could only see it vaguely as he cast a glance over Salazar’s shoulder. A mass of pale flesh, the skin moving as if thousands of maggots were squirming under it, and Jack hurriedly looked away again, getting a quick glimpse of Salazar’s horrified expression before he moved on to the left hand. 

Will looked up as Jack came back into the living room, looking noticeably shaken. He stopped, just inside the door and didn’t say a word until Elizabeth prompted him to, asking him what had happened. 

”Salazar is dead. I’m fairly certain, at least.” Jack swallowed before continuing. ”Something broke through your window and dragged him out. There wasn’t anything I could do.” 

”Oh, Jack.” Elizabeth got up from the couch and made her way over to him. ”I’m so sorry.” 

She put her arms around him, stroking his hair in a comforting gesture that made Will feel a little awkward, not sure whether he should be looking away or not. Luckily for him, it didn’t last too long, with Jack quickly shrugging the embrace off and sitting down on the floor. 

”So what do we do now?” Elizabeth remained standing, looking over the boys much like Salazar had done earlier that night. 

”If it’s in your room then we can’t stay in the house.” James’ voice was surprisingly calm, and Will found himself quite impressed at his put-together demeanor as he continued. ”And whatever it is that’s outside is…most likely looking for us, right?” 

”Right.” Elizabeth nodded. ”So should we find somewhere else to stay for the night?” 

”I think that would be wisest,” James said and Elizabeth nodded again, closing her eyes for a moment, no doubt thinking of where to go. Will couldn’t exactly contribute with any alternatives. This was by no means a part of town he was familiar with, seeing as he could barely say that about his own neighborhood…

”We could try for the garage,” Elizabeth finally suggested, interrupting his thinking. ”Though it’s pretty far.”

”How far?” James asked and Elizabeth shrugged.

”Fifty yards, maybe more,” she said. ”We’d have to go through the kitchen door, then it’s just straight-”

A loud thud cut her out, coming from just above their heads. Will’s head snapped up, as though he would actually be able to see anything besides the roof and the lamp swaying ever so slightly. Still, the group needed no confirmation to know what was about to happen, and without a word they all began to move towards the kitchen. 

Once inside, Elizabeth shut the door behind them and made her way to the porch door, pausing for a moment before she slowly opened it. Will held his breath as it slid open inch by inch and Elizabeth hesitantly peered outside. 

”I can’t see anything…” Her voice was hushed, and she took a step back then opened the door completely. 

Almost immediately, a figure started moving towards the house. It broke out of the fog and the darkness, into the light of the porch and Will could for the first time that night see one the creatures hunting them clearly. Human-like in shape, with long arms that dragged behind it in the sand, a mouth hanging open to reveal nothing but darkness inside and a cluster of eyes covering nearly the entire right side of its face, making them look almost like fish eggs. 

Elizabeth shut the door again as fast as she could, but it was too late. One of the long arms shot out, reaching inside and stopping the door from closing. The hand’s long, hard finger dug into the floor like it was made of butter, and the creature slowly pulled itself inside, as Elizabeth slowly stepped back, soon backing into Will who couldn’t find it in himself to move a muscle. 

That was, until the creature’s head came in through the door, all of its eyes seemingly fixing on Will at the same time and he felt a spike of energy run through him. He looked to the stove, his eyes landing on a large frying pan, and before the creature could get any closer he grabbed the pan’s handle and lunged at the creature, bashing it right in the eyes. 

The thing’s skull collapsed with a wet crunch where the frying pan hit, and several of the eyes seemed to pop, leaking a thick, dark liquid onto the floor. Still, the creature wasn’t entirely incapacitated, and its arms continued to pull it forward, even as Will continued to bring the frying pan down on it. He felt entranced, only focused on shutting every last one of those disgusting eyes, and so it wasn’t until the last of them was part of the puddle surrounding the creature that he could force himself look up, seeing that the others had moved to the porch door. They could be staring at the still moving, albeit now much slower, creature, but Will still got the sense that it was him their eyes fixed on, much like the creatures’ had done earlier. He dropped the frying pan and got up, wiping his slime-covered hands on his shirt before joining them. 

”Come on, let’s move,” he murmured, and Jack nodded. 

”He’s right, come on.” 

Without further discussion the group moved out, with Elizabeth taking the lead, Will and Jack in the middle and James in the back. They walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. Will, personally, felt like every step they took rang all over the beach, but that could just be his mind playing tricks on him. Or it could be the other footsteps, distant, but all around them. Now and then a muffled cry would reach them, or a noise Will couldn’t quite place until he recalled an old cassette with whale song his dad had played for him a few times when he was younger. It wasn’t quite the same, but it was close. A drawn out, hollow note that echoed in the night. 

Then, a louder noise joined in, if only for a moment. A sharp snap, as a twig broke under one of their feet. 

Who knew who had done it. It didn’t matter. All the group could do was run, panicked and disorderly, as the howling and the footsteps drew closer. Will didn’t know if the way his heart was beating was because of the exertion or fear, all he knew was that the sound of his own pulse nearly drowned out both his own and the pursuers’ footsteps. 

He was next to Elizabeth now, and the two of them were close to hitting the garage door before Elizabeth reached out to stop him. They came to a halt, but immediately moved to one side each of the wide door, pushing it open just enough to crawl under it, soon followed by Jack and finally James. 

James was panting as the garage door fell shut behind him and he sank to the floor, leaning against it until he felt something hit it. The vibrations from the impact made him get to his feet with a startled gasp, and he turned around to see the door visibly shaking. The sound of something big pounding against it, almost like something threw itself towards it, mixed with the door rattling in its hinges and James was just about to suggest trying to board it up with whatever they could find in the garage, when a new sound added to the mix made his blood turn to ice. 

”Hey! Let me in!” A panicked voice yelled, lightly muffled by the door but clearly coming from just outside. A girl, it sounded like at least, who was soon joined by two male voices.

”Please!” 

”Please we can’t stay out here!” 

It took a while for James to finally snap out of his shocked trance, but when he did he immediately got up and tried to open the door, only to find it stuck. He looked up, hoping to see what was holding it in place, finding the cause almost immediately. There was a lock, which Jack had seemingly just shut, seeing as he still held the key. 

James took a step forward and reached for it, but Jack quickly clenched his fist around the small piece of metal, and put his arm behind his back, continuing to back away with every step James took, until James finally got tired of it and grabbed ahold of the front of his shirt. 

”Give me the key.” He tried to keep his voice calm, even as the screams from outside made his heart race with terror. 

”We can’t risk it.” Jack glared up at him, his jaw tense. 

”Can’t risk- Do you _hear_ yourself?” James nearly screamed in frustration, and turned to Will and Elizabeth. ”And are you two going to help out or not?” 

There was a long pause, and despite the noises still ringing through the air, James thought the room felt silent as a grave. 

”Jack is right,” Elizabeth finally said. ”It’s too much of a risk.” 

She bit her lower lip and looked away, not meeting the gaze of anyone in the room. James was about to ask Will to back him up, but one look at him made it clear that he would be of no help either. 

James relaxed the grip he had on Jack’s shirt, still not letting go entirely. He looked away from Will and Elizabeth, first at the door which still shook with the force of the people trying to get in, then finally to Jack. Rather, to where his own hand held onto the short shirt, nearly brushing against Jack’s collarbone. And where a large, mean-looking bruise covered his skin, all the way up to his shoulder. James didn’t know what had caused it, or when, but it seemed fresh and - most importantly - it was on the same arm that held the key. He only hesitated for a moment, before he let go off Jack’s shirt completely, freeing his hand so that he could direct a hard punch to the bruised area. 

Jack cried out, whether it was shock or pain didn’t matter, and he stumbled back a few steps, his arm now hanging limp at his side and the key falling to the floor. It just barely had time to land before James snatched it up, making for the lock and unlocking it before anyone could stop him. 

He threw the door open, and saw that there were indeed three people outside, a girl he recognized as Angelica and two boys he couldn’t remember the names of in the moment. Angelica was the first to get in, rushing towards the back of the garage, and the other two tried to follow, but one of them was stopped by a long, way too long, arm reaching out from the fog and grabbing him by the leg. It tripped him, his face smacking into the garage’s concrete floor and leaving his nose a bloody mess, which James only glimpsed for a second before the boy was dragged into the fog with a blood-curdling scream. 

Then, out of the fog came a creature, not the same that had killed the boy it looked like, seeing as this one had no arms, only a mass of writhing tentacles that covered its body and seemed to shift in completely impossible ways as it moved towards the garage at a surprisingly high speed. 

James backed up, trying to close the door again, but before he could shut it completely, a few of the tentacles slipped through under it, swiping at his legs with tips that - he noticed now - were hard, like claws. And sharp too. One of them caught him in the calf, piercing through both clothes and flesh and forcing him to bite back a scream. He stumbled back, each step with the wounded leg making spikes of pain shoot through his entire body, and the door fell back open, letting the creature inside. 

It moved forward, still at the same high pace, and James just barely managed to get out of the way. He fell backwards, out onto the sand and forced himself to fight through the pain and get up, ignoring the pained scream and the sound of tearing flesh coming from behind him. Only when Jack, Will and Elizabeth had passed him and when he was already starting to run - as best as he could, at least - away from the garage did he look back, seeing Angelica’s limp, skewered body fall to the floor, the creature discarding her almost nonchalantly. 

Fighting the urge to throw up, James turned his eyes back to the nothingness of the fog and ran. He couldn’t see any of the others, and soon he couldn’t hear them either. At least he didn’t hear any creatures, at least not close, at the moment. He wasn’t sure where he was running, until the damp sand of the beach turned into asphalt and he nearly crashed into a police car that stood abandoned on the road. Probably the one the backup had come in, even if there was no trace of them now. And it seemed as though nothing had gotten into the car, seeing as it was completely intact. 

James didn’t waste any time getting in the car, and making sure the door was locked tight behind him. He let out a shuddering sigh of relief as he leaned back in the driver’s seat, closing his eyes for a moment to let the feeling of finally getting to rest seep through him. 

Then, he sat up straight and started looking for the car keys. 

Elizabeth had lost sight of the others almost as soon as she got out of the garage. Then, she’d been too busy worrying about how to avoid all the creatures she could hear running around her to even think about where the others were and now, forced to stop before her lungs gave out completely, she just couldn’t find it in her. They had to be alive, right? Hadn’t the book said the creatures would go away if one of them died? 

She held a hand over her mouth, trying to muffle her strained breath and kept her ears open, ready to run again the moment she heard anything. There were footsteps all around her, but far enough away for her to feel like she could take a moment, just a short moment longer, to catch her breath. 

Perhaps staying still was best? It was quiet, and if she curled up perhaps she could make herself look like part of the surroundings? A large piece of driftwood, or-

A set of footsteps grew louder and Elizabeth immediately started running. She ran, as her lungs felt like they were going to rip to shreds under the pressure and as she felt something trickle down her upper lip, then the taste of iron on her tongue. 

She wiped the blood from her nose and kept running, until she crashed into something and had to put the still bloody hand over her mouth to keep her scream quiet. 

Then, she felt a wave of relief, if only at the sigh of a familiar face. Jack’s, to be precise. He looked as relieved as her to see a human again, and with a quick exchange of nods, the two joined hands and got back to running. They held a lower pace now, and Elizabeth found herself wondering if it was the sense of security being together brought or if they were both just exhausted. She’d been running far too much tonight. If she got out of this alive her legs would be cramping like hell tomorrow. 

The ’if’ made her shudder, and she picked up her pace slightly, with Jack doing the same. A noise came out of the fog in front of them, and they quickly turned, heading right. Elizabeth had no idea where they were going, having lost her bearings ages ago, until the fog seemed to clear slightly, and the smell of the sea became more pronounced. Then, for what felt like the first time in ages, Elizabeth could actually see what was in front of them, for a stretch longer than she could reach. 

The sea glittered under the moonlight, small waves breaking all over the surface. _Restless,_ was the first word that came to Elizabeth’s mind, and she supposed that wasn’t entirely unlikely. 

As the two stopped, facing the water, Elizabeth could hear more of the creatures moving around them, closer now. And getting closer with every moment that passed, until Elizabeth was certain they had to be surrounded, from all sides but the sea. She stepped closer to Jack, and felt his grip on her hand tighten until she almost thought she’d bruise. The two of them still kept their eyes on the sea, where something was starting to move. 

It was huge, a dark shadow that crept closer, only barely breaking the surface. It seemed unable to keep a solid form, looking almost organic at one moment only to turn angular the next, and Elizabeth couldn’t quite tear her eyes off it until one of its appendages reached out of the water completely. 

A scream cut through the fog and made Will stop in his tracks. He hadn’t intended to, but it did give him the opportunity to come to his senses and notice that the fog was starting to clear. He could see some of the creatures almost clearly now, all of them having stopped, much like himself. They stood still, until another scream, from the same person it sounded like, rang out. Then, they started walking. Slowly, and all of them in the same direction, towards the same goal. A goal which Will could now see, he realized. 

The sea laid still as a mirror, save for the rings that formed when one of the creatures stepped into the water. The circles met and crossed each other, as more and more of the creatures walked into the sea. One of them nearly brushed against Will on its way there, seemingly taking no notice of him and Will decided it was best not to waste that opportunity, keeping as still and quiet as he could so as to not alert them. 

Someone grabbed his arm and he nearly screamed, until he turned and saw who it was. 

”We have to go.” Elizabeth’s voice was shaky, and she didn’t meet his eyes. Without waiting for a reply, she took his hand and started walking, forcing Will to come along. Not that he minded, really. There seemed to only be a few creatures left on land, and soon - as they passed him and Elizabeth - he couldn’t see any more of them at all. 

There was no fog left by now, and that was a good thing, seeing as it let him and Elizabeth see as a police car came towards them. They stepped out of its path as it slowed down, pulling up next to them. 

”Get in.” James had rolled the window down and leaned out of it slightly, looking around the beach, most likely for more of the creatures. Will and Elizabeth happily obliged his order, climbing into the backseat and shutting the doors as James rolled the window back up, leaving the car completely silent, save for their shallow breathing. 

”Have you two seen Jack anywhere?” James finally asked and Will noticed Elizabeth tensing slightly, her hands balling into fists on the seat. 

”He didn’t make it,” she mumbled. ”Something pulled him into the water.” 

There was a long pause, Will feeling like the air in the car was getting hard to breathe, and James looking away from the rearview mirror, leaving his face out of Will’s sight. 

”There was nothing I could do,” Elizabeth finally finished, and looked out of the window, her face reflected in it enough for Will to notice her expression. Saddened, of course, but there was something else there. Almost a sense of guilt. 

He shrugged it off. There was nothing that could be said about what Elizabeth was feeling from what he could discern in a car window’s reflection. If he wanted to know how she was feeling he’d have to ask. But that would probably wait. For now, Will just wanted to rest, and think as little about what had happened tonight as he could. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all have a banging halloween, this has been in the works for a literal year so it best be enjoyable v_v (this is a subtle way of saying comments are highly appreciated luvs)


	3. Epilogue

It had taken some time before Elizabeth’s window had finally gotten fixed, with how many people were coming and going in her room, looking for clues that would no doubt lead them nowhere. Quite frankly, it had been exhausting, and Elizabeth hadn’t felt like she could fully relax until now, when her room was her own again, and no one was poking around it. 

She sat on her bed, looking out through the new windows and down at the beach. It was grayer than ever, not even a discarded bottle to catch her eye. It had been empty for months, but it would most likely be back in business come summer. The last funeral for any of the victims would be held in March, and that gave plenty of time to move on. She’d probably be expected to throw another halloween party next year, even. 

Elizabeth sighed, and turned back to her book. It had been a miracle she’d been able to keep it from being confiscated, really. Or rather, it had been foresight on her part. If she hadn’t hidden it the first thing she did when she came home after that night it would probably be locked up in some evidence room right now, and be the subject of some wild theorizing in certain circles. 

She flipped the page, reading through yet another useless ritual, then continued through the book. It was hard to read, and it had taken her quite some time to get through as much as she had. And still no luck. 

She was considering quitting for the night, when she finally found a title that caught her eye, and her heart began to pound as she read the single page detailing the ritual. It was risky, of course it was, but it wasn’t overly complicated. In fact, she could probably pull it off on her own. Really, the biggest catch was the date. 

_Of course it’s always bloody halloween,_ Elizabeth thought as she put a bookmark in and shut the book, stuffing it away in a box under her bed. She went to turn the light off, then crawled into bed, feeling quite accomplished despite having to wait for nearly ten months. Still, she could last that long. As long as she could set things right, she could wait for years, if she needed to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> completely forgot to post this ngl ngl


End file.
